Introduction
It was early 1994 and Yash Raj Films started to plan a romantic film with Yash Chopra's son Aditya Chopra being the debutant director. Actors like Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan were approached for the titular role, which they turned down. Reports suggest that producer Yash Chopra even planned to approach Tom Cruise for the same, which naturally, did not materialize. Shahrukh Khan was thus chosen as the lead, in spite of him gaining strong momentum as a villain in films like Baazigar, Darr, and Anjaam, and the rest is history! I mean, who would've thought that a 1995 Diwali release would go on to become one of the best pop-culture element to ever exist, so much so, that it runs in a Mumbai theatre every single day, even today! Starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles, this film had an ensemble cast of Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher, Satish Shah, Parmeet Sethi, and Karan Johar. Here I try to explain why or what makes this film so iconic and relevant even after 30 years of it's release.
Basic Plot
Two bachelors meet on a trip to Europe and fall in love with each other. They try to make their relationship survive for good, against all odds.
Positives
Performances, Screenplay, and Music
This film is known for it's cast performance and rightfully so, with the leading pair of SRK-Kajol being the frontrunners. Kajol plays Simran, the composed daughter of a preservative Indian family, convincingly, with her preserved mannerisms further leveraging the dynamics of her character. Talking about SRK, I know this is one of his very loved film and all, but somewhere down the line I felt his performance to be kind of childish and theatrical. Now, here's the fun part; there are certain portions where the film gets serious and SRK really excels in those intensely dramatic scenes. Moreover, his character 'Raj Malhotra' was intended to be that silly, casual, animated and flamboyant type of an NRI character, and it was his sheer acting conviction that helped him pull that off confidently, striking a strong chord with the viewers, and that made all the difference! So, while he may seem like 'over-acting', that's exactly what was needed for the character. Amrish Puri as the strong dad is irritatingly excellent, and his sharp contrast is a character played by Farida Jalal, who balances out the heat generated by Puri's character in the film. The supporting cast does well, and it's the chaotic group act in major portions of the film that stood in favor of the film, big time. The screenplay by Aditya Chopra is good, and what's surprising is the fact that the film isn't boring by any means even after having a runtime of over 190 minutes. This majestic runtime is utilized properly in establishing the characters and establishing an emotional bond between them. Something that stands out in the screenplay (apart from the crazy Switzerland locations) is the music and songs. Man, almost all of the iconic singers were roped in for the music album of this film and the result was an absolute evergreen banger, that not only helped the film sail through, but also contributed to the film's iconic quotient.
Creative Calls, Emotions, and Societal Themes
Among all the things that have made this film what it is today, it's emotional angle, themes, and creative calls stand apart. NRI's (Non-resident Indians) were considered indecent, disrespectful, and vulgar up until the 90's and this film did a lot to change that perception. An NRI bachelor, although flamboyant and flirty, has Indian values and morals at his core— this is the character that Khan played, and on the other hand, an Indian guy, who's excessively masculine and a by-product of the rooted patriarchal society of India is played by Parmeet Sethi, who happens to be the villain of this film. The artistic choice to show this sharp contrast from what Indians unanimously believed at that time was very well received by the actual NRI's, for whom this film became an instant favorite. Kudos to the creative team as well, who managed to fit in elements that would make the film acceptable to both class and mass audience. I mean, the amalgamation of lush green Swiss landscape and a colorful Punjabi joint family household ain't no joke, but the creative team handled that very well. What the film also dared to show is the fact that girls marrying the boy of her father's choice isn't a sign of trust that the daughter has over her father. Instead, it's an oppression that pins the daughter down, and the girl speaking up for herself and putting forward her choices is regarded as a forbidden audacity. A girl has no right to love, no right to work, and the only thing that parents can do to their daughter is marry her off to an absolutely unknown guy. The way these social taboos were used as themes to reflect a picture of the conservatism of the Indian people was truly amazing from 1995 standards. The sharp emotional standard of the film is expressed through many such conversational dialogues that justify the themes the film tries to portray. And overall, I loved how director Chopra designed the arcs of several of his characters, who understood the need of freedom towards the end of the film.
Underwhelming Aspects
Minor Directorial inconsistencies and Tonal shifts
While there's not much to complain about this film, I found several of the scenes to bear a serious tonal shift from others. The film is funny, casual and silly at one point, only to become insanely dramatic and serious the next minute. Then a song arrives, and the flamboyancy continues. I mean, I'm pretty okay with the film being over-the-top comical when in Switzerland, but when the actual plot hits, the exaggeration should've subdued, which did not. The directorial treatment is surprisingly positive, which doesn't really let you feel the vulnerability of the two lead characters do not ending up with each other. I mean, there are quite a few scenes that try to show case that impending fragility of their relationship, but it's the sheer optimistic aura that the film carries (also is designed with), that make you go— 'it's just a matter of time and things will be alright again', every time a crisis or conflict arises.
Conclusion
All in all, Aditya Chopra's directorial debut DDLJ is a romance classic that is more than just a film. It's a social message to everyone out there, that dreaming and following your heart isn't bad if you are honest. As much as the film emphasizes commercial sensibility (strong dialogues, grand entry scenes, lavishly shot songs and intense confrontations), the social message is equally highlighted. The sheer combination of an intoxicating ride of emotions and a heady dose of drama made the message clearer. With iconic dialogues to evergreen songs, to eye soothing cinematography, to towering performances, this film had it all. 'Bade bade deshon mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hain senorita' says Shahrukh Khan in the film; a film so iconic, that it's included in the reference book of '1001 Movies you Must see before you die'.. a film so iconic, that it's the longest running film in the history of Indian cinema... a film so iconic, that it led to the typecasting of SRK in romantic roles. This is, ladies and gentlemen, a true blue Indian commercial cinema!
Watch Out For
- Music
- Cast Performances
- Societal Themes
- The Climax
WTF Rating
7.5/10